WE ARE NOT THE BODY

“I had my first spiritual experience where I was meditating and I knew something would happen. The room was dark. Suddenly, something went up my spine. I received a pain in my chest and went out through the head. My eyes were closed. I saw the whole universe. It was a fantastic experience. After that, whenever I meditated I saw many saints and sages, including Christ and Mother Mary, and all the great saints of India. I realized in one of my practices that I probably had an out- of-body experience. I was neither male nor female; I was just pure energy. I was frightened. I opened my eyes and said, ‘What is this?’

Then another fantastic experience I had was when probably I achieved partial soul realization. During this meditation, my eyes were closed and my consciousness was with every single atom in the room. My consciousness and the consciousness of all atoms in the room were the same. So then I realized my teacher’s teaching that you’re not the body, you’re not the emotion, you’re not the thought, you are a soul, and you’re pure spirit.”

Daniel’s Reflection

I met Prakash Balgopal in Dubai, UAE. He is a pranic healer and from Dubai he has spread the teaching of pranic healing throughout the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. The Pranic Healing Institute website defines this kind of healing as an energy, ‘no-touch’ healing system based on the fundamental principle that the body has the innate ability to heal itself. Pranic Healing utilizes ‘life force energy,’ or prana, to accelerate the body’s inborn ability to heal itself. It is practiced by hundreds of thousands across the world.

What struck me about Prakash was how deeply grounded and calm he was. He offered to channel his dead teacher, Grand Master Choa Kok Sui, so that I could interview him! I regret not taking him up on that offer. Back then, I was earlier in my own journey of belief in having an ability to communicate with entities in other realms.

What I learned from Prakash was a strong reminder that we are not our bodies…we are pure energy. Not our thoughts. Not our emotions. Not even being male or female. It is easy for me to judge and classify other people when I see them as their body.

I find this quote from Henri Nouwen to so beautifully capture this idea:

“As long as I keep running about asking ‘Do you love me? Do you really love me?’ I give all power to the voices of the world and put myself in bondage because the world is filled with ‘ifs.’ The world says: ‘Yes, I love you if you are good-looking, intelligent, and wealthy. I love you if you have a good education, a good job, and good connections. I love you if you produce much, sell much, and buy much.’ There are endless ‘ifs’ hidden in the world’s love. These ‘ifs’ enslave me, since it is impossible to respond adequately to all of them. The world’s love is and always will be conditional. As long as I keep looking for my true self in the world of conditional love, I will remain ‘hooked’ to the world—trying, failing, and trying again. It is a world that fosters addictions because what it offers cannot satisfy the deepest craving of my heart.”

What an important reminder to me that I must prevent my natural inclination to put these same expectations on others by categorizing and judging. When I do, I am fueling a world of conditional love. When I see others as pure spirit, I am an ally of God, the Universal Connectedness.